Isaac Hayden’s red card had all the hallmarks of a rash challenge that would change the match. With substantial time to play and with no real need to tackle the way he did, with studs up, his teammates would be forgiven for giving him a sore ear about the slide, punished by referee Craig Pawson.

Meanwhile, the handball in injury time also caused some controversy – despite the fact a goal did not arise from the penalty, thanks to a Neil Etheridge save.

So was the penalty a handball? Was Hayden’s red card harsh? And why couldn’t Cardiff capitalise?

The penalty

Kenedy of Newcastle United takes a penalty and misses against Cardiff City. (Getty Images)

The ball, crossed into Sean Morrison’s outstretched hand could have been argued as incorrect on two grounds. Some may claim the ball was outside the area when it made contact with Morrison’s hand. It wasn’t. Some may also say it was ball-to-hand. It wasn’t.

Morrison’s arm, as he dived, was outstretched as high as it could be – an unnatural position clearly with an aim to block the path of the ball.

Kenedy stepped up. He’d been excitable all game, had made mistakes and acted out over them. He didn’t complete a pass to his teammate in the first half. He’d taken a free-kick off Jonjo Shelvey, who had been delivering pinpoint balls all game, and slammed it low into the wall only minutes later. This could have changed his combative, poor performance into a match-winning one.

He passed it into Etheridge’s diving body. Next time, give the free kick to Jonjo at least.

The red card

Josh Murphy went to ground arms in the air in the 67th minute, a fair distance from where contact had occurred. On first viewing a straight red from referee Craig Pawson seemed unfair on Hayden. The replay told a very different story.

Hayden had lunged in from behind, studs up, with little intent to challenge for the ball. It was a thoroughly dangerous tackle and Murphy’s reaction was warranted – it must have been quite painful.

Hayden reacted to the card with disbelief, he even complained to the assistant referee walking off, but he shouldn’t have. Not only was the foul a clear red card, it was supremely stupid. Murphy wasn’t past him, and there was no tactical need for the intensity of the challenge, other than that Murphy had been enjoying a lively game. He had already forced Manquillo into a booking.

Newcastle had been riding their luck for a while, in truth. In the 32nd minute, unhappy with being fouled and dispossessed, Kenedy had kicked out at Cardiff’s Real Betis loanee Victor Camarasa. Definitely a bookable offence in its vitriol, if not more.

With 20-odd minutes left to play in the match, the game was Cardiff’s to grasp. It was a shame they couldn’t.

A game in desperate need of some composure

Kenedy of Newcastle United reacts following a missed penalty chance. (Getty Images)

A Cardiff v Newcastle fixture does not regularly invite excitement. The early Premier League fixture on Saturday afternoon lived up to the level of composure and creativity one would expect from such a billing.

The moments of excitement were extremely rare for the first 45 minutes. Three attempts on goal from Cardiff and four from Newcastle flattered both teams, completely unwilling to take the game by the scruff of the neck. They were attempts on goal in the same way

Perhaps the first moment of genuine entertainment occurred 49 minutes in when Martin Dubravka’s poor pass to the left wing allowed Junior Hoilett a lackadaisical toe-poke from just outside the box. Blocked by Jamaal Lascelles. The chance was snuffed out before it even had time to breathe, and the game continued to disappoint.

A great chance fell to the Danish striker Kenneth Zohore, five minutes later. The Cardiff man skewed a header, five yards out and completely unmarked despite the threatening cross, at least as many yards right of Dubravka’s goal.

In the 61st minute Junior Hoillett had a very good crossing position from a free kick left of the Cardiff box. He curled it neatly into Dubravka’s arms as if he’d been aiming for the big Slovakian. The Newcastle goalkeeper barely had to move. The Magpies had their chances too – when Ayoze Perez left the turf of the Cardiff City Stadium in the 64th minute he will have been thinking of a number of close-rangers he missed.

It was as if neither side had any composure. When approaching a goal, attackers on both teams flubbed their lines. When the red card came, Cardiff launched themselves onto the match afresh, but still couldn’t create a genuine chance.

With five minutes to play, a corner was whipped into the Newcastle box. Zohore’s deflected header bounced to the post, around which the Cardiff players stood perplexed. After what felt like a few years, a half hearted attempt was made to

Fluffed their lines

Cardiff City’s English midfielder Josh Murphy was the man of the match against Newcastle. (AFP/Getty Images)

The decision by manager Neil Warnock to substitute Josh Murphy at 78 minutes was baffling. He had seen his twin brother Jacob just be brought on for the opposing team, and had been running the show on the left wing. He was relishing the game, and rightly complained to Warnock about the decision when he reached the sideline – Murphy was the most exciting player in blue and was making things happen. He was awarded Man of the Match after the final whistle blew.

Cardiff stuttered through the remainder of the game, after Murphy’s exit, hampered by an injury to Junior Hoillett on the other wing. They now lacked the necessary pace, incision and creativity they needed to engineer a chance.

Newcastle will come away from the 0-0 thinking they were glad to get a point, in the circumstances – despite the flubbed Kenedy penalty. The way they played for the majority of the game, they probably couldn’t ask for more.

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